The Chicks were incredible at ACL Fest and we're not OK

By Kelsey Bradshaw, Austin American-Statesman

Oh man. Where do we even start with The Chicks?

The band, the greatest band who ever ever banded, played a two-hour set Friday night at weekend two of Austin City Limits Music Festival and we're not OK. It was the moon landing. It was probably what discovering fire or electricity was like. The trio, made up of Natalie Maines and sisters Martie Maguire and Emily Strayer, gave their ACL Fest audience everything — it was church, it was a dance hall, it was healing and it was freaking fun.

From where we were standing somewhere in the upper middle area of the crowd, we could see Maines and her 5-feet-3-inches-tall frame. (We Googled it, and that's what the internet says.) She looked so tiny up on stage and it was almost unbelievable that such a voice was coming out of such a little person.

She sounded so good. So, so, so, so, so, so, so good. As the group sailed through songs off their 2020 album "Gaslighter" and all the classics you love, like "Goodbye Earl," "Travelin' Soldier" and "White Trash Wedding," Maines' voice didn't waiver. Strayer played maybe half a dozen instruments with ease. (We lost count.) And Maguire had us in a trance with her violin. The talent was palpable.

Friday night was Maines' 48th birthday, but it was us who got a gift: their performance. (I'm so sorry it felt like I had to write this.) Bob's Dance Shop, who are back for performances on the Bonus Track Stage, surprised Maines on stage, dancing around her and placing a hot pink "It's my birthday" sash on her.

"Happy birthday from one Lubbock girl to another," a neon pink sign in the crowd read.

Don't worry, we sang "Happy Birthday" to Maines.

"I'm so glad you came for my birthday party," she said with a big smile.

We never wanted the birthday party to end. It wasn't until we were walking back to our car at the end of the night that we realized how much pain we were in. Our feet were screaming and our calves felt like they just grew bones yesterday. Imagine being so good at something that you make people forget they've been walking in a dust cloud field all day in the blazing sun. Sheesh.

Hearing a whole bunch of people scream with joy when a sad song about war and heartbreak comes on is just something that happens at a Chicks show, we think. It sounded like they brought Beyoncé out on stage. When they launched into an actual Beyoncé song, "Daddy Lessons," it did not get nearly the same reception as "Travelin' Soldier."

The show took a more serious tone when The Chicks played "March, March" and "For Her." Before "March, March," the names of people killed by police and others flashed on the giant screen on stage: Breonna Taylor, Sandra Bland, Alton Sterling, Eric Garner, Botham Jean, Ahmaud Arbery and Emmett Till, to name a few. The locations of mass shootings, including the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, also flashed on screen, with the number of people killed following. It was not a cheap gimmick. The images, paired with Maines standing strong at a heightened portion of the stage, were effective.

We expected artists at ACL Fest to be vocal about the overturning of Roe v. Wade, especially after last year's festival when many artists commented on Texas' passing a bill that banned abortion after six weeks. "Hands off Roe" was part of the imagery on stage, but the trio didn't vocalize anything. We don't need them to. If you know The Chicks, you know where they stand. That's what makes them so easy to love in a time when people really care about their favorite artists' views.

Has this recap started to sound like the ramblings of a crazy woman, yet? Good, it should. Being a rabid fan of The Chicks is important to me.

My memories of The Chicks start in elementary school, probably somewhere in the second or third grade, poolside with two pals. We had made up a dance to all of the nearly six-minutes of "Travelin' Soldier," and were performing it for the moms, as one does. Then there's my brother and I nailing the perfect twang accent for "Goodbye Earl" during car rides to summer camp with our mom. We later asked her why she would let us sing about murder and she responded, "It's a good song." I remember The Chicks cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Landslide" coming on the radio and my mom telling me it was her favorite song.

The Chicks are about my family and my girlfriends. Their music is good for all the time. They make me proud to be a woman. I spent so much of Friday's show just yelling "women!" Crying about a pillow of bluebonnets and a blanket made of stars was therapeutic.

During "Landslide," I called my mom and held my phone up. I did the same during "Goodbye Earl." Women can contain multitudes, OK? Even though she wasn't there with me, it was still emotional to at least feel like we were together for a little bit. That's probably The Chicks' fault since their show was a whole family affair. Maines' dad and her son performed with her and Maguire's daughter played the violin with her for a song. It was very sweet.

Maines' dad, legendary producer Lloyd Maines, at one point held up his phone and took videos of the crowd. In Maines' ear, behind-the-scenes officials were telling her to hurry up because they were running out of time.

"If we get charged for going past time, (expletive) it," she said. "My dad needs to take his videos."

The Chicks wrapped up just before 10 p.m., right on schedule, ending with "Not Ready To Make Nice" and "Goodbye Earl."

The women walked together to each end of the stage to wave goodnight, and I cried like I was watching someone I'd known my whole life get married or graduate from college. We walked back to the car, parked in the Chuy's parking lot just a few steps from Zilker Park. "Goodbye Earl" played as we drove home.

"Mary Anne and Wanda were the best of friends, all through their high school days," Maines sang.

I thought about how I couldn't wait to show my kids the murder song.

Return To Chicks 2022 Tour Page